A locally scattered thundershower
comes through on a full stoked
locomotive wind, and slams
past his house. He gets out of bed
to watch, and stands there
in the storm’s confused
reflection, more a shadow
than a man. Raindrops.
big as boots,
Then it’s over.
The farmer can’t sleep.
At first light
he gets in his pick-up
and goes to look at his land.
The sun rides up
on a clear sky, a shiny spot
on a porcelain plate.
An eye-batting breeze
flirts with the damp
flour scent of a delayed
harvest. At the 5-mile corner
the farmer knows that he has drawn
out of a full-house.
He looks at his field
like it was never there.
When hail comes, size doesn’t
matter. Five minutes
of the pea-sized stuff
is all it takes
to iron a wheat field
flat. He is tired
and considers never going home.
At the restaurant, some men
are not tired at all. Conversation
spills across the contour
of damage. To stop the erosion,
they pull their best jokes
out of their pockets and plant them
between cups of coffee. Before noon
the farmer antes, and goes back
into his country. He greases his combine
and enjoys the dust.
~ Greg German
Originally Published in Kansas Quarterly, 1993 V.24, #4
Greg German was born and raised near Glen Elder, in north central Kansas, where he farmed with his family for many years. He currently lives in Kansas City, Kansas, with his wife Regina and son, Alden. He is a private consultant specializing in web site development, special project consulting, and photography. (http://www.limestone9consulting.com) He holds a B.A. degree in English/Creative writing and a B.S. in Education from Kansas State University. Greg developed and maintains http://www.kansaspoets.com — a website unique to Kansas Poets. Greg’s poetry and personal essays have appeared in over 50 literary journals across the U.S.
Guest Editor Melissa Fite Johnson received her Master’s in English literature from Pittsburg State University in Kansas. Her first collection, While the Kettle’s On (Little Balkans Press, 2015), won the Nelson Poetry Book Award and is a Kansas Notable Book. Her poems have appeared in Valparaiso Poetry Review, Broadsided Press, The New Verse News, velvet-tail, and elsewhere. Melissa teaches English and lives with her husband in Kansas. For more, visit melissafitejohnson.com.
Nice work, Greg–congrats!